Using social media to monitor Occupy movement

(CBS News) NEW YORK - Facebook and Twitter are now essential tools for protest movements like Occupy Wall Street. According to a survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), nine in 10 law enforcement agencies say they monitor social media. CBS News correspondent Tony Guida reports they are using what they find to make cases against demonstrators.

When Occupy Wall Street occupied the Brooklyn Bridge last October, police arrested 732 protesters, virtually all charged with disorderly conduct -- neither a crime nor a misdemeanor -- but a violation, like loitering.

"It's a whole lot of fuss over a politicized traffic ticket," said 23-year-old Malcolm Harris, who was among those arrested. However, he was one of just a handful whose Twitter account was subpoenaed.

The D.A. maintains that Harris' public Tweets prove his intent to defy police orders to disperse.

"It's a fishing expedition and they're going fishing for whatever information they can dredge up, whatever will make this harder on the people going out there protesting," said Harris.

Harris's lawyer, Martin Stolar, said the subpoena of Tweets in a case that is not even a crime is much ado about nothing.

"We're sitting here with this subpoena smashing a gnat with a sledgehammer, and it's absurd," said Stolar.

Judge Matthew Sciarrino disagrees. Citing Twitter's user agreement that it is authorized "to make your tweets available to the rest of the world...," he ruled that "the Tweets the defendant posted were not his," and therefore he has no standing to challenge their subpoena.

Harris plans to keep up his fight.

Twitter remains a major organizational tool for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Its power figures to be on display again next Tuesday when a huge May Day rally is planned at a park.

[crypticvalentin]

Occupy Spring!
https://vimeo.com/40686624

[Molly-Pchr]

Sometimes these "protesters" get in the way of themselves.

[RDriftwood]

What's wrong with protesting corruption in finance, corruption in politics, and the corruption that link the two? What's wrong with protesting the unfair advantages and gaming the system - no matter what your political affiliation is? The guilty vocal minority must feel threatened.

[wdrussell1]

A wealth terrorists' utopia.
Money equals free speech, but actual speech gets you arrested.

[alphaa10]

You are correct that police brutality was "underreported", but much of that underreportage came from the fact the police knew when cameras were near, and when they were not.

In NYC, civil authorities were so well informed about the press, Bloomberg staged the breakup of the Wall Street Occupy camp in the dead of night-- all to avoid political damage from news video cameras.

As for "ignoring" the Occupy movement, most press accounts have been accurate, and many columnists have taken the trouble to interview multiple members of the respective Occupy camps.

In fact, media interviews became such a burden for the Occupy Wall Street group, it set up a news information desk for the sole purpose of being "on message" about the demands of Occupy Wall Street.

[askagain]

Apparently the occupy movement is yesterday's news. How many Americans actually take an interest in the occupy movement? My guess is that very few people care about it one way or another.

[Hissyspit]

Um, the point is to care about the creeping extreme police and court overreach into our constitutional rights, whether you or the majority of Americans agree with Occupy Wall Street or care about the protests or not

[JJASMAN]

People care about the occupy movement. It was never organized to be successful and it won't be until it is.

[kitgainer]

Despite previous provocations I hope Law Enforcement Officers will stand in solidarity with the 99ers demands for criminal prosecution of the embezzlers who have stolen their/our retirement money to fund the bank bailout and record bonus'.

The Police Union should instruct their Brotherhood to do everything 100% by the book and then to do it again extra careful and a third time just to make sure it takes even longer. Or just have a case of Blue Flu on May 1. Fidelis ad Mortem Centurions.

[kitgainer]

Despite previous provocations I hope Law Enforcement Officers will stand in solidarity with the 99ers demands for criminal prosecution of the embezzlers who have stolen their/our retirement money to fund the bank bailout and record bonus'.

The Police Union should instruct their Brotherhood to do everything 100% by the book and then to do it again extra careful and a third time just to make sure it takes even longer. Or just have a case of Blue Flu on May 1. Fidelis ad Mortem Centurions.

[ProjectHug]

just because social media is being used so effectively to get the word out doesnt excuse you in the main stream media for ignoring the occupy movement and not covering the brutality they have been suffering at the hands of police squashing free speech. you should be ashamed.